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Yellow Vests Knock Out 60 Percent of All Speed Cameras In France (bbc.com)
Thelasko shares a report from the BBC: Members of the "yellow vests" protest movement have vandalized almost 60% of France's entire speed camera network, the interior minister has said. Christophe Castaner said the willful damage was a threat to road safety and put lives in danger. The protest movement began over fuel tax increases, and saw motorists block roads and motorway toll booths. Some protesters feel speed cameras are solely a revenue-generating measure which takes money from the poor. The BBC's Hugh Schofield, in Paris, said evidence of the vandalism is visible to anyone driving around France, with radar cameras covered in paint or black tape to stop them working.
These devices may not be able to take pictures but they still measure speed. And the results are damning:
They detect a 30 % increase [fr] of rides above the speed limit. The lessons of all this are clear:
Death rates are lower on the Autobahn. Perhaps instead of going after speeders, go after people who hog the left lane which impact those behind them. Maybe go after those who don't signal their intent which can also affect those around them.
Speed doesn't kill. Idiots do.
You live in a fucked up place if a contractor can levy random fines without legal recourse.
I know how fast I can drive safely. If I'm in error, charge me when I do so.
Did you really just make the "I should be allowed to drive as fast as I deem safe until I cause an incident." argument?
That's all speed limits are. People who think they know better.
Are you under the impression that speed limits are just made up at random? Or are you actually aware that there are scientific methods, formulas, and guidelines used by engineers to determine what the proper speed for a particular stretch of road should be?
Depends on what the speed limits are. You like to pretend that's not part of the equation but it's essential to this form of taxation.
Also, it simply doesn't work this way except for sociopaths like you. People drive at speeds reasonable for prevailing conditions and drivers are consistent in their perception of safe speeds. When speed limits are reasonable, compliance is high. When limits become sufficiently low, drivers tend to ignore them. Governments exploit this when they set limits. They want an adequate supply of speeders so they deliberately set limits too low. If they aren't getting enough, they lower limits. Happens everywhere in the US.
Understanding this, it's clear to see that the cost of this is actually high. People waste time, safety is actually worse and expensive infrastructure is underutilized.